Bus CCTV tool lets lazy Londoners find free seats

It may not be an actual problem, but it's definitely annoying to
climb up the stairs of a double-decker bus only to slink back down
because there are no free seats. So be glad London is working to
make sure you never unnecessarily exert yourself again.

A new technology from Transport for London (TfL) will use preexisting closed-circuit television (CCTV) setups in
the double-decker buses to monitor how many people are upstairs.
The data will show up on a display downstairs so passengers can
know whether or not they should climb to the top.

Rather than embedding expensive sensors, this system adds a software component to the CCTV systems already built in:
it takes a a high-res image and scans it to determine the number of
bodies occupying the seats. Since the technology will work on
preexisting video setups, it's not as privacy-invasive as you might
think. At least, it's not any more invasive than what London's
already doing.

We doubt anyone is really worried about people climbing stairs
unnecessarily (barring any falls, at least it's good exercise). The
new service is part of a larger TfL effort to make moving through
London more efficient. Along with these seat monitors and pedestrian trackers, double-decker buses are now being outfitted with monitors that track the bus paths and show
nearby landmarks with live updates about station closures. The idea
is to save passengers from bothering drivers for information about
the city's complex layout. At the very least, it sounds helpful for
Google Maps-dependent tourists who don't want to pay for data
roaming.

The live maps are already active on several London buses, and
the seat counters will first appear on Number 12 route buses in the
next couple of weeks. They may not make finding a seat on a bus any
easier, but at least they'll stop you getting your hopes up.